The Next iPad Will Look A Lot Like The iPad Mini

Apple’s most successful product, in the iPad line, is the iPad Mini. The second they introduced it, it exploded onto the scene and it hasn’t stopped selling since. So, perhaps less than surprisingly, Apple has decided to see what happens when they scale it up, at least if a leak is to be believed.

What you’re seeing above is supposedly the back of the next iPad. It’s interesting not least because, as teardown fans know, that’s just an iPad Mini back writ large. In fact, we took a quick look at these photos to make sure they’re not “artist’s representations” or something and so far it seems legit.

The main interesting point here is that the casing is very, very light. It’s three and a half ounces, a substantial savings compared to the current iPad. True, the current iPad is hardly a granite slab, but it’s fascinating how far Apple will go for a weight savings.

Also of interest is how the screen seems to be coming together. If this holds, there will be just three millimeters between the edge of the case and the screen. It will also be, from the looks of things, a slightly slimmer profile, although until the full device is assembled we can’t be sure exactly how much thinner it’ll be.

Although let’s face it, Apple’s not going to be happy until the iPad and iPhone are as close to two-dimensional as you can get. Really, they don’t want a phone, they want a data device that can also cleanly slice through steel. Heck, we want a data device that can cleanly slice through steel, although we’re wondering what case you’d need for that.

We’ll probably find out whether this is accurate or we’ve all been pranked this fall; Apple’s expected to debut the new iPad then.